Young children, especially those up to the ages of nine or ten, learn differently from older children, adolescents, and adults in the following ways:
- They respond to meaning even if they do not understand individual words. - They often learn indirectly rather than directly – that is they take in information from all sides, learning from everything around them rather than only focusing on the precise topic they are being taught. - Their understanding comes not just from explanation, but also from what they see and hear and, crucially, have a chance to touch and interact with. - They generally display an enthusiasm for learning and a curiosity about the world around them. - They have a need for individual attention and approval from the teacher. - They are keen to talk about themselves, and respond well to learning that uses themselves and their own lives as main topics in the classroom. - They have a limited attention span; unless activities are extremely engaging they can easily get bored, losing interest after ten minutes or so.
In the light of these characteristics, it can be concluded that good teachers at this level need to provide a rich diet of learning experiences which encourages their students to get information from a variety of sources. They need to work with their students individually and in groups developing good relationships. They need to plan a range of activities for a given time period, and be flexible enough to move on to the next exercise when they see their students getting bored.
We can also draw some conclusions about what a classroom for young children should look like and what might be going on in it. First of all we will want the classroom to be bright and colourful, with windows the children can see out of, and with enough room for different activities to be taking place. We might expect them to be working in groups in different parts of the classroom, changing their activity every ten minutes or so. ‘We are obviously,’ Susan Halliwell writes, ‘not talking about classrooms where children spend all their time sitting still in rows or talking only to the teacher’ (1992:18). Because children love discovering things, and because they respond well to being asked to use their imagination, they may well be involved in puzzle-like activities, in making things, in drawing things, in games, in physical movement or in songs.
Harmer (2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching
Young children
- They respond to meaning even if they do not understand individual words.
- They often learn indirectly rather than directly – that is they take in information from all sides, learning from everything around them rather than only focusing on the precise topic they are being taught.
- Their understanding comes not just from explanation, but also from what they see and hear and, crucially, have a chance to touch and interact with.
- They generally display an enthusiasm for learning and a curiosity about the world around them.
- They have a need for individual attention and approval from the teacher.
- They are keen to talk about themselves, and respond well to learning that uses themselves and their own lives as main topics in the classroom.
- They have a limited attention span; unless activities are extremely engaging they can easily get bored, losing interest after ten minutes or so.
In the light of these characteristics, it can be concluded that good teachers at this level need to provide a rich diet of learning experiences which encourages their students to get information from a variety of sources. They need to work with their students individually and in groups developing good relationships. They need to plan a range of activities for a given time period, and be flexible enough to move on to the next exercise when they see their students getting bored.
We can also draw some conclusions about what a classroom for young children should look like and what might be going on in it. First of all we will want the classroom to be bright and colourful, with windows the children can see out of, and with enough room for different activities to be taking place. We might expect them to be working in groups in different parts of the classroom, changing their activity every ten minutes or so. ‘We are obviously,’ Susan Halliwell writes, ‘not talking about classrooms where children spend all their time sitting still in rows or talking only to the teacher’ (1992:18). Because children love discovering things, and because they respond well to being asked to use their imagination, they may well be involved in puzzle-like activities, in making things, in drawing things, in games, in physical movement or in songs.
Harmer (2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching